Cohen says ‘vassup’ to Hollywood in vulgar, funny Brüno
Sacha Baron Cohen faced two big challenges in making his followup to 2006’s great success, Borat. First, the “Ali G Show” mastermind had to find enough marks who hadn’t encountered his previous characters, which couldn’t have been easy in a year when jagshemash was the word on everyone’s lips. Second, he had to survive all the lawsuits the film earned him.
Done and done. Now, the most-sued actor in modern comedy returns with his third alter ego, Brüno, and he’s bringing his suitcase full of sex toys with him. The film is Cohen’s effort to one-up himself, no mean feat when your last outing featured a naked wrestling match in a crowded hotel ballroom. Against considerable odds, he’s mostly successful.
The fish-out-of-water mockumentary follows the arc of Borat almost exactly. When his hit Austrian television show, “Funkyzeit mit Bruno,” is canceled, our hero funnels his energy into the pursuit of American celebrity. Accompanied by his adoring assistant (Gustaf Hammarsten), he sets out for the City of Angels and the guaranteed fame and fortune therein.
In his American journey, which once again takes him from the big city to the deep, deep South, he’ll find plenty of confused bystanders, credulous celebrities and hostile yokels. If you found this stuff funny in Borat and Da Ali G Show before it, you’re almost certain to find something here to entertain you. It follows that if you don’t enjoy seeing unsuspecting people duped, this is not your movie. Cohen is just as much a provocateur as an entertainer, so even if you’re not laughing the whole time, you’ll often find yourself in slack-jawed disbelief. Among the unprecedented gags:
Bruno meets and is almost killed by the head of a terrorist cell when he tells him that “Your king Osama looks like a dirty wizard”; crashes a Westboro Baptist Church protest while dressed in bondage gear; attempts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine; and adopts an African baby, because Angelina and Madonna both have them. Compared to this stuff, much of Borat seems positively quaint.
It’s therefore tempting to view Brüno as shock for shock’s sake, and indeed, some of it — particularly the running joke with the adopted baby — goes wide of the mark. But the vast majority of the film is biting and funny, a poke in the ribs for a society driven nuts by sexuality issues and vapid celebrities. Points to Borat director Larry Charles for once again managing the difficult task of making a solid comedy based on a series of five minute skits. He has good material to work with — I think “Da Ali G Show” is one of the funniest things that has ever been on television, and the fact that I still loved Borat after it attained near-Austin Powers levels of cultural saturation speaks highly of the film’s quality.
Gay rights groups are justifiably concerned by the film, but I think the character, vulgar and shallow as he is, will ultimately do more good than harm. Much like Borat was a xenophobe’s idea of a foreigner, Bruno is a severe homophobe’s idea of a gay person. The self-styled fashionista is hypersexual, European and confident that every straight man in the world just hasn’t met the right boy. He’s a ridiculous caricature, a composite of a thousand negative homosexual stereotypes. When those stereotypes are bundled together and shoved in your face, it underscores just how ludicrous they are and holds them up to mockery. That’s the genius of it: Cohen isn’t laughing at gay people. He’s laughing at anyone who could be fooled by such an obvious parody as Bruno.
I’ve said before that Cohen is one of the few comic actors today who really takes chances with his comedy, and Brüno ups the ante in every way imaginable. He’s not afraid to alienate whole sections of his audience, which makes his hits harder and his misses forgivable. Is it offensive? Definitely. Boring? Ish don’t think so.
To comment on this article,send your e-mail to glen.baity@gmail.com.
Keep up with the latest movie news! Chech out YesWeekly. com for movie times and video trailers from all your favorite Triad Theatres! 336.851.0094 4822 Koger BLVD Carmike 18 www.carmike.com
Log onto YesWeekly.com — click on the “Flicks” section. Then go to “What’s Showing”
Sacha Baron Cohen faced two big challenges in making his followup to 2006’s great success, Borat. First, the “Ali G Show” mastermind had to find enough marks who hadn’t encountered his previous characters, which couldn’t have been easy in a year when jagshemash was the word on everyone’s lips. Second, he had to survive all the lawsuits the film earned him.
Done and done. Now, the most-sued actor in modern comedy returns with his third alter ego, Brüno, and he’s bringing his suitcase full of sex toys with him. The film is Cohen’s effort to one-up himself, no mean feat when your last outing featured a naked wrestling match in a crowded hotel ballroom. Against considerable odds, he’s mostly successful.
The fish-out-of-water mockumentary follows the arc of Borat almost exactly. When his hit Austrian television show, “Funkyzeit mit Bruno,” is canceled, our hero funnels his energy into the pursuit of American celebrity. Accompanied by his adoring assistant (Gustaf Hammarsten), he sets out for the City of Angels and the guaranteed fame and fortune therein.
In his American journey, which once again takes him from the big city to the deep, deep South, he’ll find plenty of confused bystanders, credulous celebrities and hostile yokels. If you found this stuff funny in Borat and Da Ali G Show before it, you’re almost certain to find something here to entertain you. It follows that if you don’t enjoy seeing unsuspecting people duped, this is not your movie. Cohen is just as much a provocateur as an entertainer, so even if you’re not laughing the whole time, you’ll often find yourself in slack-jawed disbelief. Among the unprecedented gags:
Bruno meets and is almost killed by the head of a terrorist cell when he tells him that “Your king Osama looks like a dirty wizard”; crashes a Westboro Baptist Church protest while dressed in bondage gear; attempts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine; and adopts an African baby, because Angelina and Madonna both have them. Compared to this stuff, much of Borat seems positively quaint.
It’s therefore tempting to view Brüno as shock for shock’s sake, and indeed, some of it — particularly the running joke with the adopted baby — goes wide of the mark. But the vast majority of the film is biting and funny, a poke in the ribs for a society driven nuts by sexuality issues and vapid celebrities. Points to Borat director Larry Charles for once again managing the difficult task of making a solid comedy based on a series of five minute skits. He has good material to work with — I think “Da Ali G Show” is one of the funniest things that has ever been on television, and the fact that I still loved Borat after it attained near-Austin Powers levels of cultural saturation speaks highly of the film’s quality.
Gay rights groups are justifiably concerned by the film, but I think the character, vulgar and shallow as he is, will ultimately do more good than harm. Much like Borat was a xenophobe’s idea of a foreigner, Bruno is a severe homophobe’s idea of a gay person. The self-styled fashionista is hypersexual, European and confident that every straight man in the world just hasn’t met the right boy. He’s a ridiculous caricature, a composite of a thousand negative homosexual stereotypes. When those stereotypes are bundled together and shoved in your face, it underscores just how ludicrous they are and holds them up to mockery. That’s the genius of it: Cohen isn’t laughing at gay people. He’s laughing at anyone who could be fooled by such an obvious parody as Bruno.
I’ve said before that Cohen is one of the few comic actors today who really takes chances with his comedy, and Brüno ups the ante in every way imaginable. He’s not afraid to alienate whole sections of his audience, which makes his hits harder and his misses forgivable. Is it offensive? Definitely. Boring? Ish don’t think so.
To comment on this article,send your e-mail to glen.baity@gmail.com.
Keep up with the latest movie news! Chech out YesWeekly. com for movie times and video trailers from all your favorite Triad Theatres! 336.851.0094 4822 Koger BLVD Carmike 18 www.carmike.com
Log onto YesWeekly.com — click on the “Flicks” section. Then go to “What’s Showing”
